Four days in and Marc-Andre Dumont, for the most part, is pleased with what he has seen at the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ training camp.

“Right now our practices are quality practices,” the Eagles head coach and general manager.

“I feel the guys are paying attention and progressing individually and as a group. That’s what we wanted to see from our group. The work ethic is there, there’s lots of enthusiasm and the guys know they’re working to make the team and working to earn a trip to Russia. It creates a lot of positive vibes and I’m happy about that.”

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Dumont has been disappointed with some players who have reported to camp out of shape.

“I expected some guys to be in better physical shape than they showed up,” said Dumont, who didn’t reveal which players were the object of his discontent.

“The physical testing shows that our objectives were not met all around and that’s the only disappointment I have right now. This all has to do with off-ice specifics and nothing to do with on-ice performance.

“Some guys had good results, while some other guys we expected results to be higher. Besides that, we’re happy with what we see on the ice.”

Players won’t have a lot of time to showcase their talents, and to get into better shape. The Eagles’ camp, which opened on Saturday, will only last nine days, giving Dumont a little over a week before finalizing the roster by this Sunday.

The team will then depart for Russia, where they will represent the Canadian Hockey League at the Junior Club World Cup. The Eagles will play at least four games at the Aug. 22-30 exhibition tournament, which features teams from Finland, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Belarus and the United States. Russia will be represented by teams from Moscow and Ufa.

But Dumont said the overseas trip hasn’t altered anything at training camp.

“We haven’t really changed what we plan to do; it’s going to be pretty much the same,” Dumont said. “We’re looking at the big picture. We want to be ready for the Russia tournament but we have a lot to prepare for the overall season, not just one event in August.”

Although still a bit early in the process, Dumont said he’s been impressed with the performance thus far of a trio of 2014 draft picks — 16-year-olds Pierre-Luc Dubois, Samuel L’Italien and David Caza.

“Among the new guys, I’m really pleased with what I see from the ’98 forwards that we drafted,” Dumont said. “They are doing very well. I’m very happy.

“We’re far from determining yet if they’re going to be on the roster or not but they are definitely showing what could be promising junior careers.”

The Screaming Eagles play their first pre-season game Friday on the road against the Saint John Sea Dogs.